The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Johnny Denovo still scans the scientific literature, that’s clear. The other day, we met for lunch at a restaurant in Quincy Market. He was immersed in an article, and we spent the early parts of the meal discussing what he’d been reading.

The article talked about how the brain affects bone and the digestive system by signalling with serotonin and other neurotransmitters. For Johnny, there were a few issues worth pondering, mainly about cause and effect.

“Scientists think the brain is superior, but what if it’s part of a system that we just haven’t seen because we think every organ is distinct?” he asked. “What if the bone and the gut are modulating the brain?”

How we think has always been critical to Johnny’s technique. When he talked with a retired brain surgeon, he learned that the brain surgeon had become convinced over the years that the mind/body connection was more than a connection — it was a relationship. Patients who lost limbs or donated kidneys or had heart attacks all showed changes in their cognitive or nervous system capabilities.

The mind is different than the brain, more abstract. The mind is what Johnny solves, and the brain, it’s becoming clear, is only a part of it.